Similar waterloo story although, on a hike, not a bike ride.


This past summer (just prior to turning 71), I had it in my mind to do the Franconia Ridge Trail in New Hampshire's White Mountains. I had done it with my youngest son a couple years earlier, although, it was very foggy along the ridge line part of the hike (the section above the tree line). So, still a lot of fun and very cool experience but didn't get the great views. I wanted to come back to do the hike after hitting 70, well, just because :-). Anyway, got started on the trail (Falling Waters Trail for anyone familiar with the area) probably before 9:00 AM. Wasn't particularly hot, but it was very humid. As is always the case with me even when cycling, I didn't pay close enough attention to my hydration so I was sweating - a lot! The Falling Waters Trail is about 3,000 feet of vertical over about 3 miles so about a really steady 20% grade. About 3/4 of the way up to the ridge line, I was feeling really tired - I expected my legs to feel it, but I was also getting nauseous. I had taken a couple of Advil (impact of hiking sometimes gets my back sore), too, so that didn't help my stomach. I made it to the ridge line but was finding I was really having to stop very frequently to rest.


The way this hike goes is, you have a fairly steep (although, not technical) ascent, then a few miles along the ridge line, which has two summits (Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette), each somewhere in the 200-300 feet of additional ascent/descent, then a few miles back down to the trail head. Well, I was about 2/3 up the Mount Lincoln summit and was getting worried about making it (my youngest son was with me). This was probably half way through the hike so I had a decision to make. Try to continue, knowing I had to finish the Mount Lincoln summit, descent to the ridge line, then up the Mount Lafayette summit. Or, just go back and make my way down the Falling Waters Trail. It killed my ego to not finish the loop, but I was really, really struggling with doing any ascending. This is a hike where you can go clockwise or counter-clockwise. Because the Falling Waters Trail is more steep and can get wet and slippery (it had rained pretty heavily the previous couple days), it's considered more treacherous to descend in that direction. But, I was really losing confidence in making it up the remaining climbs. So, we back-tracked and I made a real effort to catch up on my hydration. It ended up being the right decision as I did get a second wind after a while.


Actually, it turned out to be rather fortuitous that we back-tracked. On the way down, we came across a young man from Quebec who had slipped off a 10-foot drop and was pretty badly hurt - lying on his back and couldn't get up. There were several others from Quebec trying to help but their cell service didn't work in the U.S. I had a Garmin Inreach (and my son's iphone did have a spotty connection) so we were able to reach 911 and remained until the NH Fish and Game rescue crew made it up (probably over a mile of steep climbing from the trailhead). I have to say, these rescue teams (volunteers) are AMAZING. In a couple of hours there were around 2 dozen volunteers along with medical supplies and a stretcher (forgot the word for it they use) to literally carry the guy down this mountain.


It all worked out at a couple levels, but humbling to make the (right) decision to turn back.